Chapter 5
Alone in his rooms, Lucifer was still wrestling with the Umbridge problem. He had flaunted every rule in the past, but he had, to date, never revealed his true self to a human. Compared to what he had seen, detention injuries shouldn't have riled him up the way they did. But it did. He had reservations about children but forcing them to carve words into their flesh crossed lines. And all of that was excluding Harry's world-shattering friend revelation. What child wished to befriend the Devil?
All in all, it had been one hell of a day. He absentmindedly wondered if perhaps Amenadiel might show up to apologise for his actions since the world appeared to be going bonkers. He dismissed the thought immediately.
It was a good thing he had a case of Firewhiskey. One bottle wasn't going to cut it tonight. He wanted nothing more than to tower over Umbridge and to give her a glimpse of Hell. To make it such that she felt hopelessness and anguish every time she closed her eyes. He began to wonder if Dolores would recognise the Devil.
He made up his mind. He left his chamber and followed his intuition to a room in a less frequented area of the castle. A portrait of a knight of some kind obstructed his way.
"What is the password to gain entry?" His voice was low and clear. It took some time, but his gift paid off in the end. Muttering the feline-themed password had the portrait swinging open for Lucifer to step through. Even in the dark, the garish pink glared at him from all angles.
"This is a room I should recreate in Hell," He grumbled as he made his way to the bedroom where Umbridge slept. His eyes were red; he knew that.
"Wakey, wakey," He sang as he ripped the comforter off the bed. As he did so, he faintly hoped that the woman wore sleep clothes since he didn't want nightmares of his own after tonight.
Dolores jerked awake, meeting the gaze of an infuriated Devil. His eyes were glowing red, and she tried to reach for her wand.
"Not going to help you, Madam," Lucifer's smile was all teeth.
"Mr. Morningstar. What is the meaning of this?" Dolores shrieked
"You have harmed children," was the only response that came.
Umbridge was frozen in place as Lucifer's red eyes locked with hers. It didn't stop there, either. She could've sworn she saw flames dancing in his irises. It was hot in here. Yet, Dolores was feeling icy cold. There was a heavy weight bearing down on her from all angles. She couldn't breathe. And then, she found herself alone in the room, without Mr. Morningstar.
"A dream. It had to have been a dream." She murmured as she settled back into her bed. Try as she might, sleep did not come again. Instead, she felt a muted horror sensation every time she came close to blissful unconsciousness.
On the other hand, Lucifer had headed straight into the Forbidden Forest after his confrontation with Umbridge. He ran at first and then soared above it. Flying was enough to forget all that happened, for a while at least.
Once he landed again, he moved in the direction he had seen the Centaurs. Before he came upon the settlement, a single Centaur blocked his path.
"Morningstar,"
"Bane, was it?"
"It is. What are you doing here, Fallen One?"
"What do the stars say?"
"Mars is bright, as you already know."
Lucifer nodded. It seemed Albus was right; war was coming to the magical world.
"Farewell, then." Lucifer rose to the sky again, enjoying the peace for a moment before he headed back. He didn't have any classes today, so Lucifer headed to the Library instead. It was time to get a few more answers.
He searched the History books for mentions of the Devil but found none. That wasn't to say there was no mention of his ventures into the world. His impact was often credited to others like Merlin and, more annoyingly, Death. Perhaps, Azrael had chosen to get him back for the Grim Reaper imagery after all?
Voldemort, as it turned out, was a magical dictator who yearned for world domination. Many of his followers went free after his supposed defeat, not including a recent escape by one Sirius Black.
Harry had a title of his own: The Boy Who Lived. A bit dark for Lucifer's tastes, if he was being candid, but then again, You-Know-Who was possibly worse.
Breakfast time proved to be very interesting. Umbridge avoided him entirely, not even meeting his gaze once. Fred and George gave him two thumbs up when they saw him looking over.
He made his way to his office, where he intended to peruse the history textbooks a bit more, but he was met with Harry Potter, the Granger girl, and Weasley the third.
He gestured for them to enter before he did so himself.
"So, what can I do for you?" Lucifer asked politely.
"Fred and George are saying no one should attend Umbridge's detentions," Harry spoke first
Lucifer said nothing.
"They say you insisted on that," Harry continued
"I did."
"You know?" Harry's question came with a slight flex of his left hand, confirming Lucifer's suspicions.
Lucifer gave a sharp nod, "Is that all?"
Hermione shook her head in the negative as she began, "You don't use a wand. We were wondering how."
"I am the Devil. Magic is energy, the manipulation of which I am known for."
Hermione did not appear convinced.
"You still have detention tonight, correct?" The question was dedicated to Harry, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Technically, it is Umbridge's detention." The boy was smirking
"Insolent brat. You'll be there tonight." Lucifer said as the three headed for the door, "Wait. Anyone who should be serving detention with Umbridge will now be serving it with me. That should piss her off,"
"Should I get detention too?" Ron whispered to Harry
Harry considered it for a moment as he explained to a confused Lucifer, "You might be a good guy, but my Defence Professors do end up trying to murder me."
"If it brings you peace of mind, then Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, I have no choice but to give you detention. See you three tonight,"
The three left, and Lucifer was trying to figure out precisely what he should be doing next. His job here had been to teach them practical defence and offset Umbridge. He grabbed loose parchment and began drafting a lesson plan. He had made the first move already. Umbridge and her Ministry would retaliate eventually, and Lucifer planned to be ready.